Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi has multiple arcs running through it for characters old and new. One of which is the highlight of Luke Skywalker’s story. While we watch Luke’s story come to an abrupt end, he ends the movie with one last showdown against Kylo Ren.
But did you know that his speech against his cousin at the end of the film was not just about Rey? Let us take a closer look at the deeper meaning of the words of Luke and of whom he refers otherwise.
Luke Skywalker’s character bowed in the original film
In the original Star Wars movies, Luke is a simple farm boy when we meet him, longing to escape Tatooine for a life of adventure. He encounters two droids who pass on a message from Princess Leia Organa, an employee of the Rebel Alliance who is trying to take over the evil Galactic Empire.
The message is intended for the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who eventually lures Luke into the mission. Luke eventually helps rescue the princess and take out the Death Star.
The idea of being something of a savior is central to Luke’s character, and more specifically, someone who helps save Leia. While Leia helps secure Luke many times out of a jam, it is Luke’s rescue of Leia that stands out as his first foray into something bigger than life he knew.
The role of Luke Skywalker in the sequel trilogy
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By the time we see Luke in the sequel trilogy, many years have passed since the events of Return of the Jedi. He is no longer an optimistic hero, but rather an aging man who could not stop his cousin’s descent into the Dark Side of the Force.
He was enlisted by Rey to help the cause of the Opposition to the First Order, the new version of the Empire. While he first hesitantly learns, he eventually learns how to accept his failure and move on. Eventually, he sacrifices himself to help the Resistance.
Once again he comes to the rescue for his sister Leia, only this time it is from her son, formerly known as Ben Solo and now known as Kylo Ren.
The dynamic of Luke-Leia is one of the most important Star Wars. The brother-sister relationship has helped define the series in many ways. There’s one more subtle reference that many fans may have missed.
Luke’s speech at the end of The Last Jedi was not just about Rey
Close to the conclusion of The Last Jedi, Luke confronts his cousin and informs him that he is NOT the last of the Jedi. The film then cuts to Rey, and draws a fairly unmistakable conclusion for the viewer. But one Star Wars fan on Reddit found a deeper meaning in Luke’s words, indicating that he may have been referring to someone else – his sister:
“… when Luke Kylo Ren lies down (I still think the scene was SO COOL) and is all like” I will not be the last Jedi “, I get shivers, it cuts to Rey, and I’m like” Ah yes he’s talking about Rey ”and that’s how I took it for years, even after tRoS [The Rise of Skywalker| came out.
Today, I was watching my Blu-Ray collection, saw the scene in tRoS where Leia and Luke are training, and it hit me like a ton of bricks, “OH. He meant LEIA. HOLY S**T HE MEANT LEIA. AND WE GOT TO SEE HER DO THE JEDI STUFF!!!”
Rarely do we see Leia use her Force powers – she uses them briefly in Return of the Jedi, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. But this point makes sense — Rey isn’t the last Force-sensitive person alive, and Leia does have some Jedi training under her belt.
It’s a cool nod to the fact that while she may not have been on the same level as Luke, Leia was in her own way a Jedi.
